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Akatsuka's Star System
Akatsuka's Star System refers to the usage of recurring characters and designs that appear throughout the works of Fujio Akatsuka and Fujio Pro. Overview In film-making, this term was used by studios for the practice of using specific top actors through their productions. In manga, it is a practice most famously used by Osamu Tezuka, but that can be employed by other manga-ka as well. With this use, characters are not simply limited to one role and others that resemble them may in fact actually be them. Some common archetypes may carry over from role to role, or the character's name. In the pages of a manga, fictional characters are also free to change their appearances more than real actors can, and can take much different parts than what readers could expect. On the other hand, there are similar or identical characters that are intended to be separate stars in works, and may be treated as such. These may sometimes be referred to as "subspecies" or classified as an outright different star, as opposed to a character being renamed or having a modified appearance. You can also refer to the lookalikes articles for more information and classification of these character types. Akatsuka's usage of this device would first widely be seen in series and one-shots published through 1963, although some earlier instances can be seen occurring in series published around the start of -kun. A number of these characters are briefly profiled on the official Akatsuka website, Koredeiinoda. Please take note that the list of works on this page may not be complete for each star, and may be in no particular order besides their debut. Official names are listed where known, otherwise descriptive placeholders may be assigned. Akatsuka and Company Fujio Akatsuka The King of Gag Manga himself. He sometimes appears in small cameos, or introductory or ending parts in a story to talk to the readers. Other times, he may directly interact with his own characters. His self-portrait design varies depending on the era, with the 1960s Akatsuka usually having a light-colored bowl-cut and a small round button nose. The caricature of Akatsuka in the 1970s and on, referenced on the Koredeiinoda website, has shaggier dark hair and his eyes often shut. Appearing in these works: *''Osomatsu-kun'' *''$-chan and Chibita'' *''Extraordinary Ataro'' *''The Genius Bakabon'' *''The Flower of Dekoppachi'' *''Hennako-chan'' (1960s version, Ribon magazine) *''Tokiwa-so Story'' *''Let's La Gon'' *''Gag Guerrilla'' *''King of Gags'' *''Ochan'' *''Monster Ball Man'' *''Gag Land'' *''Naughty Angel'' *''The Mean Old Man'' *''Run Away Run Away'' *''Fujio's Waru Waru World'' *''Tamori and I'' *''Music of My Youth'' *''Fujio Akatsuka's Literary Walk'' *''Basho Matsuo'' *''What Will Fujio Akatsuka Do!?'' *''Yotsuya H'' *''Yarasete-ojisan'' (Appearance used for lead character) *''Gag Shop'' Kikuchiyo Akatsuka's cat. He is visible in works in the 1980s, including his own series. He is a small black-and-white cat, sometimes depicted as speaking or silent. Appearing in these works: *''Kikuchiyo's Flower'' *''What Will Fujio Akatsuka Do!?'' *''Yarasete-ojisan'' Toshiki Takei Akatsuka's editor at Weekly Shonen Sunday in the early 1970s. In his appearances in Let's La Gon and other works, he is depicted as a controlling figure with a large nose and exaggerated features. In addition to his unpleasant demeanor, his socks are exceedingly foul. Appearing in these works: *''Let's La Gon'' *''What Will Fujio Akatsuka Do!?'' Kunio Nagatani One of the "idea men" at Fujio Pro and one of Akatsuka's prolific assistants from the 1960s to the early 1990s, as well as one of his fellow associates from Tokiwa-so. He is depicted as a man with large eyebrows and glasses, as well as an "M"-like mouth and wild hair. He would tend to ghostwrite full works himself, including his run of The Original Genius Bakabon. When not depicted as himself in cameos or in biographical stories, he tends to show up as a random passerby, a father character, or as a teacher (as he does in other Tokiwa-so authors' Star Systems, Shotaro Ishinomori's works being one example). Appearing in these works: *''The Numbness of Scatan'' (as Ken's father) *''Otasuke-kun'' *''Mojamoja-ojichan'' *''The Genius Bakabon'' ("The Original Genius Bakabon", TV Magazine) *''Tokiwa-so Story'' *''Tamori and I'' *''Music of My Youth'' *''What Will Fujio Akatsuka Do!?'' Shotaro Ishinomori Another of Akatsuka's friends from the complex, who was responsible for coming up with the title idea of "Nama-chan" and who had collaborated with Akatsuka on works under the pennames of "Asuka Izumi" and "U.Maia" (with Hideko Mizuno joining in the latter case). He was a successful manga-ka and known as the "King of Manga", creating titles such as Kamen Rider and Cyborg 009. He is depicted as a short, round man with a ball-like head, constantly squinting eyes, and a long downturned mouth. Appearing in these works: *''Tokiwa-so Story'' *''Music of my Youth'' Hideko Mizuno Another collaborator in "U.Maia" and friend at Tokiwa-so, famous for her shojo manga. She was the only woman among the men that lived there. Appearing in these works: *''Tokiwa-so Story'' *''Music of my Youth'' Fujiko F Fujio (Hiroshi Fujimoto), Fujiko Fujio A (Motoo Abiko) A duo of manga-ka at Tokiwa-so that would create the series Q-taro the Ghost, as well as author many of their own series separately. Akatsuka, Ishinomori, and other Studio Zero members collaborated with them on the series; F drew Q-taro, while A and the others drew the other characters and backgrounds. This is why the Osomatsu-kun and Q-taro characters often made cameos between each others' works. These two men are often seen in specific works detailing Akatsuka's time at the apartment complex. A is often depicted with glasses and large round lips, while F wears a beret similar to Ishinomori and can be seen smoking from a pipe at times. Appearing in these works: *''Tokiwa-so Story'' *''Music of my Youth'' Takashi Ishida Akatsuka's editor at Comic BomBom in the late 1980s. He is often not shown in view, instead being depicted as hurling boulders at characters or at Akatsuka himself. The boulder-throwing is punishment for bad gags, or for the flow of a story being disrupted. Appearing in these works: *''Osomatsu-kun'' *''The Genius Bakabon'' Major Works' Stars Those series and characters that have gained the most recognition through their popularity and their adaptations. Some of them can be seen across many series in Akatsuka's body of works, be they small cameos or active guest parts. Akko Ataro Bakabon Bakabon's Mama Bakabon's Papa Beramatcha Beshi Boss Kokoro Butamatsu Camera Kid Chibita Chikako Dayōn Dekapan Dekoppachi The Dogs of Night Ganmo Gen Gon Gon's Father Hajime Hatabō Irako Iyami Kankichi Kaoru Kemunpasu Keroko Kusotakeimushi Maseri Moko Nyarome The Police Officer with the Connected Eyes Rerere Ryunoshi The Sextuplets The Sextuplets' Father (Matsuzo) The Sextuplets' Mother (Matsuyo) Totoko Unagi-Inu Stars from other Works These characters are from other series that may have been popular in their day, but for whatever reasons never achieved the widespread recognition. Some of them often show up in guest roles in the above works, or some remain representing their own and never wandering far. Bokeo Bokeo's Mother Gorilla the Housekeeper Hennako (1960s) Hennako (1990s) Ichiro Ichiro's Father Jajako Mojamoja-ojichan Otasuke Tamao Tora Bit Players The "Mob characters", those often in the background or in small recurring roles but never quite standing out in a series of their own. Some originated from well-known works, but are era-specific or didn't catch on as others had. The Gyahaha Man Kabao Moguramaru The Guests from other Star Systems Sometimes other authors' characters will drop in, either as a mark of them being an assistant for the story or signifying other closeness to the series. Sonota (その太) Origin: The Numbness of Scatan Publication history: * Shonen Gahosha: April 1965 to September 1968 A small boy with swirls for eyes, a triangular nose, and a cat-like mouth. He was created by Kunio Nagatani, who authored the Scatan series and illustrated it (while Akatsuka was responsible for Scatan's design). Sonota tends to pop up in works created around the time of Scatan, or in works that had some involvement from Nagatani, whether as an assistant or full-on author. He also appears in Nagatani's own autobiographical works and manga. He can notably be seen as a classmate of Chibita in a chapter of Akatsuka-kun Can Do Anything (aka: $-chan and Chibita), and in Nagatani's Original Genius Bakabon. Q-taro This little ghost can often be seen at random in the Shonen Sunday run of Osomatsu-kun, due to it also running in the magazine. He may appear as graffiti, himself in a crowd, or in other forms. Category:Fujio Akatsuka Category:Fujio Pro Category:Characters Category:Quality Articles